The Bloggers Dilemma

Recently, a friend confided in me about a blog we mutually visited, “What is the purpose of it?", they asked, confused about its random content. I commented that the writer was probably trying to get their feet wet with an online presence and that maybe the site would morph into something very specific over time. The friend continued to look quizzically at me and said, “I feel like I’m reading someone’s diary.” This comment has since haunted me as I daily develop ideas in my mind and trash them just as quickly because I feel they are not “blog-worthy.” I guess the point is, “What am I doing here on Straight from Hill?”

Blogging, I've discovered through some research, serves multiple purposes and personalities. It is a creative outlet for the writer: a place to "file" important thoughts, discoveries and news. For the more practical blogger it is a useful means to reach a mass audience with answers, ideas, and advertisements. But in either case, the blogger is making an attempt to find a reader with a particular interest whether it be politics or parenting. The most successful bloggers have found a niche that threads together a community of followers and leads them on a journey.

In this respect, I've decided my blog has to evolve and grow a heart. A single, hard-working idea that pumps meaning into the body of my work. Up until now I have simply been writing thoughtful essays on subjects that emerge from random reflections on life. While meaningful, they do not encourage a reader to come back because I never intended really, on writing for anyone else but for me to get thoughts organized then written down. In other words, now that I've exposed myself, it's time to walk proudly in my skin and choose a place to go.

As is typical in my poor-decision-making mind, I cannot just choose one subject--yet. I have to try a few paths out. Ideas that have surfaced so far include: the writer's journey (too broad and

common); raising teens with a tot (this dichotomy of my life

creates its own chaos worthy of an entire encyclopedia worth of rants); Simply Small Living (the characters and happenings of small town life and how our family fits, or not). I also have thought about giving myself a "charge" such as eating home for 100 days or no laundry for a month. Your ideas and feedback are encouraged, e-mail me at hills@terrapintrips.com. But for now, I will embark on the next few entries with a different intent; an attempt to mainstream my expression.

Read an excerpt from my last entry into “Terrapintrips.com” the website I maintained while we sailed the Pacific. I refer to it often because it briefly states what the most meaningful aspect of checking out of life on land meant. Which leads me to my last suggested blog idea: "Land Cruising", discovering delight in everyday things (still random, but worthy).

"What if we treated everyday life like we were cruising? I continue to ponder how we can hold onto some of the pleasure of life we experienced the last seven months. One aspect of the cruising life that is so intriguing is the excitement that comes from each place, each new boat in an anchorage, each crossing, each day. What if we approached our life on land with that same sense of wonder, positive energy, and absence of time? Yes, it would be difficult to explain the time element to principals and bosses, but the essence of waking up with a smile and actually approaching life with a---"whatever happens today will be new, different, and a part of my history"--attitude. Kids do it everyday, that's why it's so difficult to get them out of bed and to school, or put them to sleep late at night.

The routines we get into and faces we see everyday during our life on land make it difficult to imagine being surprised or delighted on a Wednesday in February. But it's possible. If you can train yourself to find humor in the guy dancing behind the wheel during a traffic jam or make the effort to strike up a conversation with the clerk at the 7-11, inevitably you'll start to discover unforeseen treasures in your everyday life.

There's a little cruising blood in all of us, and sailing skills are not required. We hope you discover yours."

Haiti and Happy Talk

Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.--The Dalai Lama

The news stories reported from Haiti since the recent earthquake that we read about, hear about on the radio, or watch from afar while perched in the comfort of our homes are numbing. Initially we are captured by the bravery, the sacrifice, the intensity of the moment of rescue or discovery of a corpse. We may shed a tear or say a prayer. But the reality is we have no concept, no real understanding of what that impoverished country is suffering.

In fact, Haitians were living such a dramatically different existence than ours before the earthquake ever hit and that alone would be so incomprehensible to our fellow Costco-and-Ikea-driven Americans. Their’s is a life of simplicity, survival being the reason for all things, everyday. Ours is not. Period. We have everything we need and more; our closets and drawers overflow, we have t.v and computers in multiples. Only by visiting or living in such a poor country for a period of time would an American ever be able to begin to comprehend what daily living in such conditions would require. But also, what it doesn’t require. Hunter said of his recent visit to inner-city impoverished Lima, Peru, “Here (meaning in the States) there’s always the next ‘thing’. In Peru, you just be.”

Our exposure to other Worlds is essential in understanding the full human experience. No matter how we get it, through media, books, experience, even National Geographic or the Discovery channel provide us a window into the survival struggles of others and an appreciation for what is important. Americans have to make an extra effort to seize opportunities to go out of their comfort zone, visit the distressed, and travel to impoverished nations in order to touch that part of our souls that naturally bonds us all together.

Disaster, then, has the potential to bring promise in the face of darkness. It can merge these two dramatically different Worlds by opening doors and encouraging change, rebirth, and action. Much like natural forest fires burn through acres of tall trees and lush meadows, to leave ash and dirt, what looks like smoldering death. But eventually, through natures will, green sprouts emerge among the blackened earth. Over time, grasses and low bushes develop and animals return to feed on them as life rejuvenates the land and brings back beauty. You’ve seen the people flooding to help in Haiti through rescue efforts, medical support, adoptions. Maybe you’ve even participated in raising money to send to help their rebuilding efforts. This is the type of change and renewal possible through crisis.

The challenge, then, is to live with an everyday awareness of how we are contributing to this bond we share. Those who are mobilized to do something everyday, to really make a difference in other’s lives by educating, to preserve forests, to save species are truly humanitarians. Giving of themselves for the common good of their kind, instinctively. My wish is that I am able to contribute of myself to the best of my ability to this human experience and in return am happy to just "be".

I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life.--Dalai Lama